We've got the crib, the chair, the diapers ... Where's the baby?

Aah, the glider has arrived. Now this nursery just needs a baby. Well, and then the baby needs a name. Then I can get cracking painting and hanging letters on the wall. Can't wait for this chica!
So. . . what to name her? Cast your vote on the sidebar, if you haven't already. I never would have thought I'd be so indecisive about it. I pegged myself as the type to have a solid name choice by week 22. Who knew?

Todd comes home on Wednesday morning. The plan is to induce early next week if she hasn't arrived on her own before that point. Which means we're talking about a baby in arms in just about a week, give or take a few days. We're stoked!

Celebrating the Love of My Life

Today is mine and Todd's four year wedding anniversary. Kind of a bummer that we're not together, but at least Todd will be here in just seven days!
In honor of the occasion, I have made a compilation of interesting facts about us, each with four answers, one for each year we've been married. Some are quirky, others more serious - they are all a part of the experience.

Songs We Always Bust Out Singing to Each Other:
(Please enjoy the links to the music videos!)
1. Straight Up - Paula Abdul
2. Elvira - Oak Ridge Boys
3. Love of a Lifetime - Firehouse
4. Wind Beneath My Wings - Bette Middler

Fun Places We've Been Together:
1. New York City
2. Hawaii

3. Scipio
4. San Diego

Pet Names I Call Todd:
1. Babe
2. Lover
3. Hottie
4. Todd Floyd

Ways We've Celebrated Our Anniversary:
1. Power parachuting in St. George (honeymoon)
2. Sunset sail in Santa Cruz (one year)

3. Kayaking at Morro Bay (two year)
4. Weekend in New York City (three year)

Things Todd is Really Good At:
1. Running
2. Taking breathtaking pictures
3. Basketball
4. Working hard

Activities We Love to Do Together:
1. Read books - I read aloud, Todd listens (especially great for road trips)
2. Body boarding at the beach
3. Indoor rock climbing

4. Traveling

Physical Features of Todd's That I Love:
1. Dimples that only come out when he really smiles
2. Gorgeous eyes

3. Washboard abs
4. Big, strong shoulders

TV Shows We Like to Watch Together:
1. 24
2. The Office
3. Lost
4. Gilmore Girls - it's true! One of Todd's most embarrassing moments was during lunch break while working at Lockheed, when a girl mentioned she was excited to see what happened on Gilmore Girls that night, and, without thinking, Todd chimed in and said he was, too. Imagine the looks he got from all the other guys! Ha ha ha!

Things I Nag Todd About:
1. Did you take a shower today?
2. Come eat your dinner while it's still hot.
3. When's the last time you flossed?
4. Please, please, please, let me get the tweezers and pluck the hair on your ears!

Attributes of Todd's That Made Me Fall in Love With Him:
1. Persistence/very goal-oriented
2. Adventurous (he had just joined the Skeleton club when I met him)

3. Good cook - his crock pot roast really put my mac and cheese to shame!

4. He's the Nicest Guy in the Universe. I kept waiting for him to let the guard down and be a regular guy (you know, sometimes they can be jerks) but it NEVER happened. It was hard to believe he was sincerely such a good person. Once I figured out it wasn't an act, there was no way I was letting this guy out of my sight!

Todd, I love your guts.

37 Weeks

The Bean is huge. We're getting too big for my maternity clothes. She'd better show up soon so I don't have to stroll the streets of Midway in the buff.

Veteran's Day

Last year Todd and I went to New York City over Veteran's Day weekend to celebrate our wedding anniversary. One of our best trips ever.
This year, Todd observed the holiday sitting in class learning all sorts of bad things about life in Afghanistan. I know they were bad things because he wouldn't tell me anything about it. I hate that. It makes me cry.

I went to Memorial Hill, a local spot where they honor war veterans from the area. They've got plaques with the names of all the local soldiers who have served in each war. Todd's name is on a plaque for the War Against Terror.
Next year, my veteran darn well better be safely back on American soil, planning another anniversary trip with me.

Quiz: Take Four

4 Random Things I Love About My Husband:
1. He flirts with me all the time
2. He's easy to brag about, because he does cool things all the time
3. I LOVE how he smells right after he puts on his deodorant - it makes me go crazy
4. He drools over tools, but hardly owns any

4 Jobs I've Had:
1. Daycare supervisor
2. Burger flipper at the Cougareat (BYU food court)
3. Early morning custodian at BYU - cleaning urinals is always fun, but especially at 5 AM
4. Teacher - easily the best job ever

4 Movies I've Seen More Than Once:
1. Princess Bride
2. Deja Vu
3. Arsenic and Old Lace
4. Pirates of the Carribean

4 TV Shows I Watch:
1. Lost
2. The Office
3. American Idol
4. Gilmore Girls

4 Places I've Been:
1. Oahu, Hawaii
2. The Bahamas
3. New York City
4. Seattle, WA

4 Places I've Lived:
1. Provo, UT
2. Mountain View, CA
3. Enterprise, AL
4. Midway, UT

4 Favorite Foods:
1. Lasagna
2. Ice cream - it doesn't even matter what flavor (I can't resist the stuff)
3. Green peppers
4. Raspberries

4 Places I'd Like to Visit:
1. Italy
2. Washington D.C.
3. Ireland
4. New Zealand

4 People I Tag:
1. Amy N. (when you get a sec to catch your breath)
2. Courtni M.
3. Jamie J.
4. Stephanie H.

Thank Goodness

California's Proposition 8 passed. I am so relieved.

Deployment

My deployment has officially begun. I'm in Oklahoma right now training up before we go over around 7December. It's only been a couple weeks so far, but has felt like a whole lot more. Each time I see Angie (we video chat online through skype) she is getting larger, I mean the baby is getting larger. I told her to go ahead and schedule the birth for Monday December 1st at 8am so I don't miss it. (I'll be back for Thanksgiving break for a few days)

I put together a quick video of some of our training; just another day in the office hoisting the paramedic up and down, except this time I got to ride the line and play the part of the medic...



More to come from Bagram airbase in Afghanistan next month.

What's That On Your FACE?!

I love having a webcam on my computer. Todd bought a laptop with a built-in camera before he left so that we can have video chats while he's deployed. It's been such a blessing. It is so much nicer to see his face when we talk.

But last night, seeing Todd's face gave me a bit of a surprise. At first, I thought it was just bad lighting. But I kept staring, and finally I had to ask, "Are you growing a mustache?" He laughed and answered in the affirmative. Apparently, all of the guys are doing it. It's a morale-boosting kind of a thing. What the - ?!
Now, I am a big fan of the two-day scruff. But usually the upper lip and the chin and cheeks match. It's so weird for him to have a mustache without a beard. And this is only a couple of days old. Just wait. . .

Being in the military, Todd's never had much of an opportunity to grow facial hair. He keeps an electric razor in the car in case he forgets to shave before leaving for work. He'll get in trouble if he's not clean-shaven. However, apparently they have different standards when we're talking deployment. And, oh baby, Todd is taking advantage of it! It's super weird.

I asked him how long he was going to keep it, and he did NOT have a deadline in mind. So I gave him one. I said he could keep it until the day he comes home for Thanksgiving. I'll see it in person and try out the prickly kiss. But then it's got to come off. He can't have a 'stache in the brand new daddy pictures! My dad went through a mustache phase, and whenever we look at those pictures, we make fun of him and ask him what he was thinking. Todd cannot have his "what were you thinking" fashion moment as we introduce our new chica to the world. Sorry man.
Readers, what are your thoughts on mustaches? I'm talking - unaccompanied by a beard. Just the upper lip hair. Nothing more. Do tell.

Just a Little Good News

So, just a little bit of rejoicing here. There was angst and possible disappointment, but all has turned full circle now.

Voting ballots. Where the heck were ours?

Todd and I are registered to vote by mail in California. We got our Cali ballots in Alabama last year so we could vote for all the county judges and stuff. We were expecting to get Cali ballots again this year, and VOTE YES ON PROP 8 and also try to keep Obama out of the White House.

But the ballots never came.

I've been calling and trying to speak with an actual person at the Santa Clara County voting office for over a week now. First, I was getting sent to voice mail, which was full and wouldn't let me leave a message. Then, I was still being sent to voice mail, but when I'd leave messages, they must have fallen into a dark abyss or something, because there was no response.

But last night I got a call from them! And they said our ballots had been mailed to Alabama. They put my Utah address and Todd's Oklahoma address in their system and said they would mail our new ballots out in the morning (maybe even as I type this...) and we should have them by Thursday. Hallelujah!

Here is why it means so much to me:

1) I am a patriotic American, and do not want to miss out on exercising my right to vote.

2) Although I am not in love with McCain, Obama scares my socks off. I need to do what I can to get Palin - er, uh, McCain - into the White House. Please, can we stay away from Socialism?

3) Vote Yes on Prop 8 is perhaps the most important action I will have taken as a voter since I started voting in 2000. (For those who don't know, Prop 8 would define marriage as being only between a man and a woman in the California constitution. Sadly, there is a lot of opposition to it in California.) I am horrified by how threatened "traditional" families are, and want to do whatever I can to ensure that my children are raised in a country where it's common sense that a family has a mom and a dad.

At any rate, I was thoroughly disappointed that I wasn't going to be able to vote at this upcoming election, but now my worries are over. I can't wait to hold my ballot in my hot little hand!

Bingham Girl's Weekend

This weekend my mom and sisters came to Midway for a weekend getaway together. We had such a blast! We played games, sewed a baby quilt, and went to art galleries and boutiques around town. It's always so much fun having the girls get together to bond.

me, Kathryn, Mom, Emily

On Saturday, we had quite an hour of drama. We had been at a local boutique, looking at crafts and things. There were samples of lotions and body scrubs all over the place. We all kept putting products on and feeling so chic, smelling each other. Well, I came across a spray bottle that was labeled cranberry spice. How could I pass that up?! I took the lid off and sniffed, but couldn't smell anything, so I sprayed a little on my wrist. Oh man! It smelled SO GOOD! I could not resist spraying two or three squirts on my neck. I reveled in my great new aroma.

I came across my mom in the store and asked her to smell me. She wanted to know what I had used, so I showed her the spray. Well, she read the bottle and said, "It says it may irritate skin." What? I looked at the bottle. Then I looked at what it was displayed with - incense. Not body spray.

I said, "Actually, my neck IS starting to sting a little bit. I guess I'll go wash it off in the bathroom." By the time I got to the restroom, the sting had turned into more of a burning, and my neck was turning red. I washed and scrubbed with soap as best I could, but nothing was soothing me and the red was inching up higher and getting brighter.

I hustled out of the restroom and found my mom. When she saw me, she said my neck looked lobster red! We hustled home to take some Benadryll. However, on the way home, I started to worry that I shouldn't take any medicine without my doctor's approval. I called his number, but he was not in the office. Urgent care had closed two hours earlier. And no one answered the phone at the emergency room. (Gotta love small towns at times like this!)

Instead, my mom made me an oatmeal poultice. I layed on the couch and pretended I was getting a spa treatment for the next hour. It really did make it feel better. An hour later, I was as good as gold. Crazy, I know.

Thank goodness for oatmeal and cold water.

We had a fall feast for dinner - soup in a pumpkin. It was so divine. My friend Rebekah made it last year in Alabama, and Todd has been dreaming of it ever since. We had wanted to make it together before he took off for Oklahoma, but ran out of time. So my mom and sisters and I had it in Todd's honor instead. Here's the recipe:

Slice off the top of one medium pumpkin; clean out the inside of pumpkin and set aside. Saute four cut-up chicken breasts in three tablespoons of butter until golden. Remove and saute three sliced carrots, two sliced celery stalks, and 1/2 cup scallions. Add one can each of cream of chicken soup, cream of celery soup, and chicken alphabet soup. Stir in one can water, 1/3 cup sour cream, and 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg. Mix well and pour into hollow pumpkin. Top with pumpkin top. Place on baking sheet and bake in a 350 degree oven for 90 minutes. Scrape pumpkin sides when serving. Makes eight servings.

Mmm. Pumpkin soup. Divine.

And last but not least, I finally took another belly picture for you all. Oh, and Todd's captain is hoping to send the troop to Afghanistan a little early, so now I'm nervous that Todd'll miss The Bean's arrival. They're hoping to leave December 5th. My due date is December 1st. We'd appreciate any and all prayers that she'll make her appearance before Todd takes off.

Me and The Bean a day shy of 34 weeks.